Sometimes I love the middle.
I love the middle of a good book
that I just can't put down,
I love the creamy middle of a devil dog
especially right out of the freezer!
I love the middle of a perfect summer day,
sunny, breezy, not a care in the world.
But mostly I love the middle of a great lesson,
little brains engaged and interacting.
Sometimes I hate the middle,
I hate the middle of the night
when the bad dreams wake me.
I hate the middle of an argument
that I know I can't win.
But mostly I hate being in the middle of two people
who I love but who just can't get along.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Perspectives on the Weekend
The Friday Morning Perspective
TGIF!!!
All I have to do is get through today and then it's home to a cold beer, the couch and a good movie. Saturday and Sunday will be soooo relaxing. I think I'll sit outside--it's supposed to be beautiful--and read a magazine, maybe fall asleep in the sun. There's a great pair of shoes I've been wanting to pick up at the mall, I could do that on Saturday afternoon--oh, but they're open-toe, I'll need a pedicure. That's fine I have the whole weekend!
The Friday Evening Perspective
OK, the kids are fed, baby had her bath, Harrison and I played basketball, we all went out for ice cream, and now I'm exhausted. Way too tired for a beer and a movie, but that's ok, I have the whole weekend!
The Saturday Morning Perspective
Wow, the house is a mess, I really should clean before I relax. And while I'm at it, I should do some laundry. Oh my the fridge is empty, I'd better make a quick run to the grocery store (A quick run to the grocery store on a Saturday? How do I fall for that one every weekend?). While I'm out I should dash into Target for some cleaning supplies, Home Depot for weed killer, and Walgreen's for diaper rash cream. This is going to take all day. Oh well, I still have Sunday to relax.
The Sunday Morning Perspective
OK, we should be home from church by 11:00 unless Harrison has choir practice. I'll make us some lunch and then right after that I'm going to sit in the sun with a magazine and a cold beer. Oh darn it, I just remembered I have a literature review due and I haven't even read the articles yet. That's ok, I'll read the articles instead of the magazine, it will still be relaxing. But before i do that I promised Harrison I'd take him to the playground, I really should, he's been asking all week. And the baby is going to need another bath, I think that's a combination of yogurt and applesauce I smell in her hair. I also have to remember to remake the beds that I stripped this morning and finish putting our clothes away. That's ok, I should be able to squeak out an hour or so of relaxation.
The Monday Morning Perspective
Where did the #$%^&*+ weekend go?
TGIF!!!
All I have to do is get through today and then it's home to a cold beer, the couch and a good movie. Saturday and Sunday will be soooo relaxing. I think I'll sit outside--it's supposed to be beautiful--and read a magazine, maybe fall asleep in the sun. There's a great pair of shoes I've been wanting to pick up at the mall, I could do that on Saturday afternoon--oh, but they're open-toe, I'll need a pedicure. That's fine I have the whole weekend!
The Friday Evening Perspective
OK, the kids are fed, baby had her bath, Harrison and I played basketball, we all went out for ice cream, and now I'm exhausted. Way too tired for a beer and a movie, but that's ok, I have the whole weekend!
The Saturday Morning Perspective
Wow, the house is a mess, I really should clean before I relax. And while I'm at it, I should do some laundry. Oh my the fridge is empty, I'd better make a quick run to the grocery store (A quick run to the grocery store on a Saturday? How do I fall for that one every weekend?). While I'm out I should dash into Target for some cleaning supplies, Home Depot for weed killer, and Walgreen's for diaper rash cream. This is going to take all day. Oh well, I still have Sunday to relax.
The Sunday Morning Perspective
OK, we should be home from church by 11:00 unless Harrison has choir practice. I'll make us some lunch and then right after that I'm going to sit in the sun with a magazine and a cold beer. Oh darn it, I just remembered I have a literature review due and I haven't even read the articles yet. That's ok, I'll read the articles instead of the magazine, it will still be relaxing. But before i do that I promised Harrison I'd take him to the playground, I really should, he's been asking all week. And the baby is going to need another bath, I think that's a combination of yogurt and applesauce I smell in her hair. I also have to remember to remake the beds that I stripped this morning and finish putting our clothes away. That's ok, I should be able to squeak out an hour or so of relaxation.
The Monday Morning Perspective
Where did the #$%^&*+ weekend go?
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Emotional Risk Baby
The Department of Children and Families (DCF) classifies children who are in foster care whose birthparents have not yet had their parental rights terminated as legal risk children. Depending on how far along they are in this process, the risk may be higher or lower. Our baby is considered high legal risk. When we recieved her (that sounds so strange), December 14, 2009, the department had not yet filed for TPR (terminatiion of parental rights). While in the process of being liscensed, we had stated and put in writing that we only wanted to receive low-legal-risk children because the thought of taking in a child, falling in love, and having to give him or her back was not an option for us. We couldn't begin to fathom the heartache that would accompany such a situation. We have a seven-year-old son and thought it would be cruel to put him through that anguish, never mind ourselves. But then you get the call, and the voice tells you that you were chosen for a beautiful, healthy, six-month old baby girl, and all logical thought flies out the window. So she is here. She wakes up and calls to us from her crib, of course we are her parents. She falls down and cries out for us, of course, we are her parents. When strangers approach her she reaches for us, of course, we are her parents. Except we aren't her parents. We know this, although we try not to think about it often. We have decided that the term legal risk needs to change to emotional risk. Our emotional well-being and hers is what we are risking as we wait to find out if she will truly be ours.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Adopting a Baby Girl
I remember exactly where I was standing and what I was doing when I got the phone call that day. I was in my friend and co-worker's office. We were discussing our next PPT. My phone rang and I heard the seven words that would change my life. "We were chosen for a baby girl." The next few days were a blur of busi ness and excitement. Getting her room ready, finding out that she was a beautiful, healthy baby, seeing her picture and thinking she was so perfect, and finally meeting her.
As I walked up the driveway of a stranger's home, my thoughts were completely taken over by emotions. I was going to meet my child. She was five months old and had been raised for these first months of her life by people I didn't even know. I was going to meet her, spend a couple of hours with her, and then leave her. She wouldn't be coming home until the following week. How was I going to meet her and then leave her?
As I walked up the driveway of a stranger's home, my thoughts were completely taken over by emotions. I was going to meet my child. She was five months old and had been raised for these first months of her life by people I didn't even know. I was going to meet her, spend a couple of hours with her, and then leave her. She wouldn't be coming home until the following week. How was I going to meet her and then leave her?
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